Egypt's PM says US threats to cut aid won't work

CAIRO — Egypt's military-backed prime minister says Cairo will not halt its crackdown on foreign nonprofit groups despite what he calls threats to cut off aid from Western and Arab countries.

Egypt's campaign against pro-democracy and rights groups began late last year with raids by security forces on their offices. On Sunday, judges referred 19 Americans and 24 others to trial on accusations they illegally used foreign funds to foment unrest in the country.

The U.S. has threatened to cut some $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt over the dispute.

Kamal el-Ganzouri said Wednesday that Western countries "turned against us" after the crackdown began.

He said Egypt "won't back down or take a different route because of some aid or other."